Getting Lost in Secret Mountains’ Rainer

Secret Mountains is a band split between Baltimore (where it originated and some members of the sextet still remain) and Brooklyn, where a couple of members live now. Their recently released Rainer LP is both a lovely and loud compilation of songs that defy description. Secret Mountains blends the psychedelic with the organic to create a prog rock catharsis. So what exactly is Secret Mountains? In an interview with the band’s lead guitarist Jeffrey Silverstein and bassist Alex Jones, I attempted to get through some of the enigma. As Alex would say, it’s something you have to “listen [to] and decide for [your]selves.”

Two of you live in Brooklyn while the rest of the band is in Baltimore. What’s it like to be in a long distance relationship as a band?

Alex: We definitely don’t practice as often as we’d like to, so we’ve been corresponding through the internet much more frequently. [We send] ideas and demos to everyone on Dropbox, talk on G-chat, that kind of thing. I’m going to be moving up to Brooklyn this summer, so that should actually make everything a whole lot easier since Chris, Jeff, and I produce the majority of musical ideas in the band.

Jeffrey: Being split between two cities is definitely tough, but can also be very rewarding. It makes you work harder and really make the most of your time with each other. It was hard enough to get us all in the same room when we lived in the same city, so I think in a way we are kind of used to it. It’s definitely nice being able to set up shows in either city and have good friends who show up to both.

Secret Mountains, Rainer, and the sounds of nature throughout the album make me wonder which one of you (if not all of you) has a seemingly deep fascination/connection with nature. How did that come about the be a part of the band and why?

Alex: Those nature sounds on Rainer are all taken from field recordings I’ve made over the past few years, mostly around the Jones Falls and Druid Hill Park areas in Baltimore. Those places in particular are some of my absolute favorite spots to go when I need some time to space out and clear my head. I don’t think there’s any particular way it became incorporated into the music and visual aesthetic, it just happens that way. I would say that the idea of being isolated in the wilderness and wandering with no particular destination in mind definitely has an appeal to our collective psyche, so naturally it would come out in the work.

Jeffrey: I think we’ve definitely worked to create a fairly natural, honest sound for ourselves, one that wouldn’t have happened if not for some connection with nature. Most days, I think any of us would rather be out in the woods/mountains camping then in a crowded bar or something. I suppose its just kind of ingrained in all of us.

There are some great Polaroids of the band up on your tumblr. Who’s the photographer in the group, and do you find it important to share candid moments with your fans/audience?

Alex: Kelly has taken a lot of photos on film when we’ve been out on tour, which is where the photos on the front and back of the LP came from, but most of our photos come from people outside of the band. We try to bring someone on tour with us specifically just to take pictures and document everything (shoutout to Ian and Ace) because none of us are really photographers.

Personally I would much rather see some candid photos of people actually doing things instead of a few posed press photos of a bunch of dudes trying to look like they’re not trying to look cool, so yes, candid shots are absolutely better.

Jeffrey, you met Kelly while you were both waiting for the light rail? Tell me more about that. How did the rest of the band come around to be six members?

Alex: Pretty much Jeff and Kelly just started talking on the light rail and then decided to play music with each other, they can tell you a lot more about it than I could. Later Chris joined, then Cory, then Jake. I’ve known Jake since our high school days, so when they decided they needed a full-time bass player, they asked me.

Jeffrey: It’s a pretty dull story at this point to be honest. All I know is I got lucky meeting Kelly when I did. She was one of the first people to be like, hey these songs are good––they weren’t–– you should keep writing more. I needed that. Once we grew tired of Juno soundtrack comparisons, we were like, “Fuck it––we need to play LOUD.” I lived in the same apartment complex as Jake, and we would smoke a bunch of pot and work on music and play video games. I had known Cory for a while through mutual friends and was always so amazed that he wasn’t already in bands being as good as he is at guitar. And THAT HAIR––my goodness! I had some mutual friends as Chris and would soon find out he is an absolutely beast at life. There is seriously nothing that kid can’t do. Alex was the last piece and fit in so well. He seriously has made this band evolve so much sonically. I have a feeling once he releases his own solo stuff people are gonna be like, holy shit!

I’ve read a few interviews/features where the writer starts off as describing your music as dream pop. I don’t disagree, but I don’t agree either. I think of dream pop and I think of Beach House which is a completely different sound to me than your music. You remind me more of Mount Eerie… anyway, what would you describe your music as?

Alex: Everyone else can tell you that it definitely rubs me the wrong way when people call us “shoegaze'” or “dream pop” or “pop” or whatever because to me it sounds nothing like that, and I really don’t listen to anything that would fall into that niche in the first place. I’m always at a loss for adjectives when people ask me that question, so I just tell them to listen and decide for themselves. I don’t like speaking about music in terms of genre because I don’t really perceive it that way. To me, the most exciting music always exists outside of those kinds of descriptors, which is why I’m always pressing everyone to be more creative with their musical ideas and our sound as a whole. Duke Ellington used to refuse to acknowledge that he even played “jazz” and just called what he did “American music,” not that I think of it in terms that extreme, but I can certainly agree with the sentiment.

Jeffrey: I don’t know if we understand the dream pop references either. Our music is whatever it needs to be at any given point in time.

What influences you (musical or not)?

Alex: Musically I could go on forever, but I’ll usually be delving into this new wave of experimental electroacoustic music that’s been happening in the last 15 to 20 years. I could rattle off a million names but some of the bigger ones are like Taylor Deupree, Tim Hecker, Stephan Mathieu et al., Jana Winderen, and Kevin Drumm’s new stuff in particular are probably my favorites at this moment. It all has this kind of emotional and conceptual common thread that runs through these different artists’ work, even though they all can have very disparate styles from one another, even from album to album.

I grew up on all of the American hardcore punk that emerged during the early 80s, all the classic stuff from that era is what made me realize that music is awesome in the first place. Ian Mackaye in particular has probably provided more support and influence on my life than any other individual ever. Speaking non-musically, I always get inspired most by reading and traveling. Every time I come home (even if I’ve just been out of town for a day or two), I feel completely refreshed and affirmed in a way nothing else really makes me feel. Also, there’s been so many times where I’ve sat down to read, and by the time I get through like three pages, I have an entire song or composition or whatever in my head, and I have to stop what I’m doing and get it down one way or another. Either that or I just get distracted by the internet.

Jeffrey: Almost everything.

During your Shaking Through session Kelly mentions that you’re never really satisfied with a song. Does this mean there is room for improvisation when performing live or do you stick to what the record sounds like? Which of you tends to pick a song apart more?

Alex: We mainly stick to what the recorded versions sound like live, on some songs we have different intros that are kind of half-improvised. Doing some full-on improvisation is something I’ve always wanted us to be able to do, and we’ve tried it a few times. The problem is that other than Jake and I, nobody knows any music theory at all, so it’s not really going to work out well when both guitarists don’t have a firm idea of how to improvise. Not to say that they both don’t write awesome shit, but actual improvisation just can’t work with us.

Chris and I are definitely the ones who will be picking apart new songs, rearranging and recontextualizing stuff into the ground at times. The version of “High Horse” we did for Shaking Through was based off of an arrangement I composed that is what you hear on the LP, and we had never actually played it that way as a full band. When we decided we were going to try to do it for the Shaking Through video Jeff was frantically texting me, “Figure something out quick!” I made a demo/sketch of a live band version and we worked it out the night before we went to Philly to record it, which ironically gets completely glossed over in the documentary that we went up there to film about the recording and composition of the song.

Jeffrey: We are all guilty of picking a song apart until its DONE. In a bigger group, this can mean spending a little more time than say a three piece, just purely off of numbers/opinions. I think we’ve gotten better at this over the years. We definitely love working out transitions, intros, etc. for sets but have also worked so hard to be that band that is just really “tight.”

The video for “High Horse” is so beautiful without feeling like a National Geographic documentary. I thought the ball (world?) on fire at the end was an intriguing touch. Did you all come up with concept or was the director just like, “Okay so this is what I’m gonna do,” and you let him go off into nature to do his thing? Were any of you there while it was filmed? Where was it filmed?

Alex: To this day I still have no idea what that flaming ball was. Basically, a friend of Jeff’s was already out filming that stuff, and we mutually decided we would use the footage for a video. None of us were there, and I cannot remember specifically where it was filmed other than somewhere in the Northeast, but now that I’m thinking about it, that might even be incorrect.

There was an older version that had been made even before we went to do the Shaking Through session that was basically the same thing as what you see now, but we scrapped it because I think we all felt like we weren’t really detached enough to objectively decide whether or not is was just a bunch of boring bullshit hi-def nature footage or a cool idea for a music video, then we eventually decided to just put it out and see what happened, so it seems like everyone else enjoyed it as well, which is nice.

So what wins: Maryland crab cakes or Brooklyn pizza?

Alex: Brooklyn Pizza rules but if you put both in front of me I would probably go for the crabcake. Overall, Brooklyn kicks the shit out of Baltimore in terms of food though. Especially if it’s anywhere past midnight and I’m drunk and I need something quick and awesome.

Jeffrey: Brooklyn Pizza.

 

Note: The band recently posted the following update on their Facebook page.

Hi everyone, we have a few changes to announce over at the Secret Mountains camp. Both Kelly and Jake have decided to part ways with the band for personal reasons and to pursue other projects. We wish them all the best with their new endeavors and its certainly sad to see them go. BUT, the remaining four of us (Cory, Jeffrey, Chris, and Alex) will continue on as Secret Mountains. We’ve got some new material that we’re really excited about sharing and will have more updates in the future. Things are looking up.

 

Photos by Micah E. Wood